Academy

Academy team tops Cleveland; improves to 3-0

PITTSBURGH (July 8, 2022) — The Hounds Academy team completed a two-game homestand with their undefeated record intact in USL Academy League play, as they came out on top 2-1 over the Cleveland Force on Friday night at Highmark Stadium.

Alex Hauskrecht put the Hounds (3-0-0) ahead, and Anders Bordoy scored the game-winning goal in the second half after the Force (4-2-0) tied things up from the penalty spot before halftime.

First half

The Hounds and the Force were battling back and forth all half until John Dragisich set up Hauskrecht for the breakthrough in the 41st minute, putting the Hounds ahead. The go-ahead goal came after Hauskrecht had an earlier chance cleared off the line, and DD Flowers had a header strike the crossbar.

The Force took no time to respond and were awarded a penalty kick for a tackle in the box on Angel Murillo. Murillo was able to convert and knot the match up 1-1 on the final play of the half.

Second half

The second half stayed competitive, however, and in the 50th minute, the Hounds were able to secure the lead with a goal Bordoy on an assist from Pablo Linzoain.

“It felt amazing, getting the winner is always a dream come true. You visualize that before the game, you want that to happen” Bordoy said.

The Hounds were able to lock up and defend the lead for the final 40 minutes to earn a second one-goal victory over a talented Force team. Though possession was fairly even, the Hounds outshot the Force 18-7, which included nine shots on goal.

“Last year we didn’t start off too hot (in the USL Academy League); we had one win out of the six,” defender Ryan Edwards said after what will be his final game for the Hounds before leaving to play in college at Florida Gulf Coast. “Right now, we have three, so I don’t think we can ask for anything else. This year, we have really taken it to the next level, just working together Tuesdays and Thursday mornings, going hard and being committed.”

What’s next?

The Hounds will be back on the road for the first game of a two-game road trip starting in Kentucky, where they will take on Louisville City FC on Friday, July 15 at 7 p.m.

Hounds Academy lineup (4-2-3-1) – Dylan Janoski; Ryan Edwards, Johnathan Dragisich, Arnav Patel, Oliver Daboo; Josh Jashinski, James Ivanov; DD Flowers, Pablo Linzoain, Anders Bordoy; Alex Hauskrecht; Bench: Zach Nash, John Krug, Nick Cherry, Jason Simms, Carson Krushansky, Davi Jansson, Milo Larson

Scoring Summary

PIT — Alex Hauskrecht 41′ (John Dragisich)
CLE — Angel Murillo 45+2′ (pen.)
PIT — Anders Bordoy 50’ (Pablo Linzoain)

Academy team on target in big win over Dayton

PITTSBURGH (July 6, 2022) — In its first home USL Academy League match of the season, the Hounds’ Academy team improved to two wins from two games with a 7-3 victory over the Dayton Dutch Lions this afternoon at Highmark Stadium.

Pablo Linzoain scored twice, and Davi Jansson, Sam Farner, Alex Hauskrecht, Nate Katari and Oliver Daboo also found the net for the Hounds.

“It was Sam Farner’s last game for us as Riverhound. He’s going off to college, so it was really good for him,” head coach Justin Evans said. “It didn’t rain, so that was good, and the weather held up for us. The boys were really excited to play, and I think once the game calmed down, we showed what we could do.”

First half

The Hounds started out strong with consistent pressure in the opening 10 minutes, and they got rewarded when Jansson found the back of the net to get their first goal of the game in the 14th minute.

Farner continued the scoring for the Hounds when he broke through the backline and completed the play in the 24th minute. Less than two minutes later, Linzoain extended their lead to 3-0 when he created an open look for himself on a spin move around a Dayton defender, and he scored from long range.

But the Dutch Lions responded with goals from William Boucuvalas in the 33rd minute and Austin Bump in the 42nd minute to close out the half where the Hounds held a 3-2 lead.

“I think we made just a couple of defensive mistakes,” Evans said. “We were a little bit sloppy and let them back into the game. We went with a very young team, so I think that was a big part of it. It’s sort of learning, and we had a couple of mistakes.”

Second half

The Hounds didn’t let the Dutch Lions build on their late first-half push. In the 52nd minute, Linzoain received a cross from Ryan Edwards and finished it in the top of the net for his second goal of the afternoon to make it 4-2.

“Getting in the box on crosses was very important,” Linzoain said. “Just moving the ball, switching the play and making sure the defensive team was always on their heels, so that we can find an open person.”

The Dutch Lions pulled back within one goal of the Hounds on Boucuvalas’ second goal of the afternoon in the 55th minute.

The Hounds then made their first substitutions of the day, and Hauskrecht, Katari and Daboo immediately made an impact by finding the net. A rebound from a shot from Daboo found an open Hauskrecht, who capitalized on the opportunity to make it 5-3 in the 77th minute.

Less than a minute later, the Hounds struck again when Hauskrecht fed Katari to bring the score to 6-3. Daboo secured the final margin for the Hounds on a goal from just outside the box in the 86th minute.

The Hounds closed out the match just how they started — with three consecutive goals.

“In the end, I think we just corrected some things at halftime, and made some subs and got the victory,” Evans said.

What’s next?

The Academy Team is back at Highmark Stadium this Friday, July 8, for a 7 p.m. match against the Cleveland Force, whose only loss on the season was against the Hounds, 3-2 in Cleveland.

“We have some work to do,” Evans said. “We’ll get back in tomorrow a little bit and do a little bit of training. We need to tighten up a little bit in the back and not give up as many goals, because we can score them, but we just have to make sure that we’re good on the defense.”

Hounds Academy lineup (4-2-3-1) – Nick Cherry; Ryan Edwards, Johnathan Dragisich, Severin Dengel, Carson Krushansky; Josh Jashinski, DD Flowers; Sam Farner, Pablo Linzoain, Zach Nash; Davi Jansson; Bench: Dylan Janoski, John Krug, Alex Hauskrecht, Nathan Katari, Oliver Daboo, Ben Feinstein

Dayton Dutch Lions lineup (4-1-4-1) – Zachary Johnson; Paxton Zelik, Charles Boucuvalas, Julian Gwinn, John Banks; Gavin Brandenburg; Austin Bump, Jeremy Fuller, Jeremiah Mauch, William Boucuvalas; Jack Pascoal; Bench: Patrick Young, Dylan Dohm, Kieran Mackey, Edward Kolesnikov, Eli Abu

Scoring summary

PIT – Davi Jansson 14’
PIT – Sam Farner 24’ (Pablo Linzoain)
PIT – Pablo Linzoain 26’
DAY – William Boucuvalas 33’
DAY – Austin Bump 42’
PIT – Pablo Linzoain 52’ (Ryan Edwards)
DAY – William Boucuvalas 55’
PIT – Alex Hauskrecht 77’ (Oliver Daboo)
PIT – Nathan Katari 78’ (Alex Hauskrecht)
PIT – Oliver Daboo 86’ (John Krug)

Young players feel the heat in Pathway Program

Academy players getting the chance to train with the pros might sound like a fun opportunity. But now that the Riverhounds Pathway Program is back and running, the players taking part have found out quickly that there’s a lot of hard work involved, too.

So far this year, seven academy players have been selected to take part in training with the Hounds’ pro team, and another four players are scheduled to get their chance in late July. For each of them, it is a chance to see everything that it takes to compete at that level and see what is necessary to reach their dream of making it on a professional roster.

The most recent set of players who trained with the team in June, Oliver Daboo, Alex Hauskrecht, Josh Jashinski and Nathan Katari, share the common thread of having at least another full year of high school, putting them in the ideal age range for players who could be signed to a USL Academy contract. And while it has been hard work, the player have been enjoying their time working with the pro team.

“It’s been pretty surreal, honestly. Growing up a Riverhounds fan and having been in the academy my whole life, and now to be actually here with the guys and playing with them, it feels special,” Daboo said.

“It’s been awesome. I’ve been at the Riverhounds for a really long time. To see the players and what they can do on the field, and then to be able to do it with them in training, it’s just awesome they get to live this life.” said Hauskrecht, a teammate of Daboo’s on the 2005 Boys academy team.

The boys have been challenged day-in and day-out in practice with the team. Not only have they contended with being 15- to 17-year-olds playing against grown men, but they have also been subjected to extremely hot conditions. And the demands of head coach Bob Lilley remain high on all his players in training, whether you’re a high schooler or a veteran like Kenardo Forbes or Dane Kelly.

“That’s been the toughest part. These guys are stronger and tougher than anyone we have ever played against. I think we are adapting well, but it’s definitely a massive change in pace.” Hauskrecht said.

“The first day was rough,” said Josh Jashinski, another member of the 05 Boys team. “You know the first day at it is just learning, but as the weeks go on, you can see as a group how we’ve been able to step up and try to keep up with them”

“When I go back and train with my normal team, it feels much easier, you know exactly what you are doing and how to compete,” said Katari, the youngest of the academy players to take part coming from the 2007 team.

But while he presses them in training, Lilley enjoys having the academy players in training and loves seeing the talent the academy has to offer in hopes of one day — perhaps soon — signing a homegrown player to his First Team.

“It’s good to have them out. We get to see where they are at in their development,” Lilley said. “The last couple years with Covid, it’s been hard to see them and how they can do with our guys. It’s a big jump, the speed of play, and that sometimes shows up, but they’re quite capable.”

Lilley knows how important it is to develop talent through an academy and how beneficial that is to an organization.

For example, look at fellow USL Championship club Orange County SC, which earlier this month reached a transfer deal with Stade de Reims for 18-year-old defender Kobi Henry. The deal, which ESPN reported as being for $700,000 with incentives and a sell-on clause that could push the total well over $1 million, was the largest in USL history.

“We want to help prepare them for this level down the road, potentially, and give them an idea of what they have to do to chase this particular dream. It also helps them to see the higher levels that will prepare them when they go off to college,” Lilley said. “The first couple days, they were shaking in their boots a little bit. They relaxed, though. The (pro) guys know their names and definitely see improvement from Week 1 to Week 2. The longer time and more opportunity players get to play at higher levels helps. They’ve worked hard; our academy coaches do a good job with them.”

And while the Pathway Program is a huge step in that direction, it is the year-round mission of the Riverhounds Development Academy to develop and groom its locally raised players, so they can ultimately be in positions to receive contracts with the First Team.

“It’s the connection for us. We know there will be players sooner rather than later that are ready to make the jump,” Lilley said. “We need to be constantly looking and giving them opportunities, and hopefully in the not too distant future, we’ll see a younger academy kid really start to turn the corner. We had (Chicago-area native) Wyatt Borso before, he’s going to Notre Dame but was able to play (with the First Team) on an academy contract. We’re making a lot of progress in that area.”

Story written by Riverhounds staff intern Dante DeBaldo.

RDA teams primed for national ECNL Playoffs

There’s going to be some left-coast living for the Riverhounds Development Academy over the next week.

The RDA’s 2005 Girls team will be in the Pacific Northwest to kick off play in the ECNL’s North American Cup on Wednesday, June 22, and the 2005 Boys will start play in the very first session of the ECNL Champions League in sunny Southern California beginning Saturday, June 25.

For both teams, who qualified for the national tournaments based on their season-long performance in ECNL league play and at ECNL national showcases, it’s an opportunity to show off their talents in front of hundreds of college scouts in a new setting. It’s also a chance to bring a major trophy home to Pittsburgh to close their Under-17 age group season.

“It’s going to be an amazing experience going to San Diego and playing in front of all the college coaches there, hopefully getting recruited,” 05 Boys defender Nick Allan said. “The teams we’re going to be playing are the top teams in the country, and that’s what we’re here for. That’s the competition we want to play against.”

*The RDA’s 2005 Boys pass the ball around to get loose before their training session Monday night at Highmark Stadium.*

For the girls, there won’t be much time right away to enjoy the scenery of Redmond, Wash., the Seattle suburb where they will play.

The team arrived in Washington on Tuesday and has to be ready to play in a Wednesday night contest against Maryland United. And while the team is guaranteed matches throughout the week, the North American Cup’s championship bracket is a single-elimination format, meaning the pressure is on from the opening whistle.

“We’ve definitely talked about it. If you lose the first game, it’s done. It’s not like a group where you play a few games and then see if you made it in or not, so I think it makes each game feel that much more important to win and do our job,” 05 Girls defender Bella Vozar said.

How the team performs will determine when they play through the weekend, with the goal being to stay undefeated and reach the Monday morning championship game.

Even if the team falls short of that goal, advancing to the ECNL national playoffs has been a commendable feat for the 05 Girls, who were plagued by injuries during the season and faced some matches with a very shorthanded squad.

“We’re super-excited because we’ve had sort of a long year with a lot of injuries and ups-and-downs. At one point, we were down to 12 players on our team, and we had to grind through that,” Vozar said. “But we’ve put in so much work from the fall up until now, so I think we’re ready for this.”

The boys, who will play in Del Mar, Calif., about 15 miles north of San Diego, face a more traditional tournament structure with pool play before reaching the knockout rounds.

The 05 Boys will face Missouri side KC Scott Gallagher to begin play at 8 a.m. local time (11 a.m. Eastern) on Saturday, before meeting Tulsa SC (Okla.) on Sunday and South Carolina United on Tuesday to wrap up group play. Only the group winners advance to the knockout rounds, which begin Thursday with the Round of 16.

Just like their counterparts heading to Washington, the 05 Boys haven’t encountered all smooth sailing this year, either. But they were able to stack enough wins to qualify for the top tier at nationals, and now they have a shot to prove they’re among the ECNL’s best.

“We’re really ramping up the practices and getting more fit for San Diego — really just working,” Allan said of the team’s preparation. “It’s been a journey for our team. We’ve had some injuries, and we’ve kind of had to scratch and scrape through some games to pull it off and get to the playoffs. At the very end, we weren’t even sure we had gotten in, so it took a lot to get there.”

Family, friends and fans will be able to follow along with the two teams in the ECNL Playoffs through the Riverhounds Development Academy’s social media channels: @HoundsAcademy on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Hounds announce 2022 USL Academy League schedule

PITTSBURGH (June 6, 2022) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and the Riverhounds Development Academy will take part in their second year of USL Academy League play with a six-game slate starting this weekend and running through July.

Playing in the East Central Division, the team — made up of the top boys players from the U15 to U19 age groups — will display its talent against the best from other USL teams’ academies in a high-level competition that will help the players pave their path toward the college and pro ranks.

The Hounds’ Academy League team will be led by academy coach Justin Evans, the club’s former First Team head coach and a former pro with experience in MLS, Europe and with the Hounds. Justin will be assisted by another former Hounds star, veteran of European leagues and current academy coach, Kevin Kerr.

The team will kick off the season by playing its first USL Academy League match at Cleveland Force this Saturday, June 11, at 4:30 p.m.

Highmark Stadium will host its first USL Academy League match on Wednesday, July 6, when the team will play at 2 p.m. against the Dayton Dutch Lions. That match will be the lead-in to a pro team match that night at 7 p.m. against Indy Eleven.

Cleveland Force and Indy Eleven also will make trips to Pittsburgh during the season to face the RDA team. The game against the Force will be at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 8, and the season finale against Indy Eleven will be another 2 p.m. start on Saturday, July 30, before the pro team’s 7 p.m. match against FC Tulsa.

Admission is free to all USL Academy League home matches. To learn more about the USL Academy League, visit usl-academy.com.

2022 Riverhounds USL Academy League schedule

Sat., June 11 — at Cleveland Force, 4:30 p.m.
Wed., July 6 — vs. Dayton Dutch Lions, 2 p.m.
Fri., July 8 — vs. Cleveland Force, 7 p.m.
Fri., July 15 — at Louisville City FC, 7 p.m.
Sun., July 17 — at Kings Hammer FC, 11 a.m.
Sat., July 30 — vs. Indy Eleven, 2 p.m.

*all home matches played at Highmark Stadium

Pro Team, RDA reintroduce Pathway Program

PITTSBURGH (May 19, 2022) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and the Riverhounds Development Academy are happy to reintroduce the Hounds’ Pathway Program, bridging the gap between our oldest Academy boys players and the professional team.

The Pathway Program will bring some of the top-performing, high-school-age boys from the RDA into training with the pro team. That will give them the opportunity to be instructed by head coach Bob Lilley and his staff in a professional environment, giving them a firsthand experience of what it is like to compete at the next level.

From the pro team’s side, the Pathway Program will also provide a chance for Coach Lilley and assistant coach Dan Visser to evaluate and give added perspective to RDA players, and it opens the door for deserving young players to potentially earn a regular spot with the First Team on an amateur USL Academy contract.

“The Pathway Program is something we have wanted to bring back, and it’s a valuable tool for our academy players,” Lilley said. “Under the direction of Scott Gibson, the academy has flourished, and with talented and experienced coaches, our top academy players continue to close the gap to the First Team.

“As you see more young players coming into the USL Championship and contributing, the next step for our club is to identify and develop those players from our own system who can come into the First Team and contribute. In the long term, it will only help our team if we are able to develop our top homegrown players to the point they are ready to make the leap to the professional level.”

The Pathway Program had been on hiatus since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, as USL rules governing player health and safety limited the team’s ability to bring extra players into practice. With the chance to bring the program back this season, the Academy staff is eager to once again offer its players a training opportunity unique to the Hounds in the Western Pa. region.

“We’re delighted to welcome back the Pathway Program. This opportunity will allow our top-performing Academy boys the chance to experience the environment at the pro level,” Gibson said. “It’s crucial for the development of our Academy players to experience the speed of play, standards, and professionalism that our pro players set each day. The feedback will only further enable their development as young players, and we are thankful to the coaching staff for this opportunity.”

Details on this year’s Pathway Program, including dates and participants, are still being finalized as the Hounds Academy also prepares for its upcoming USL Academy League schedule this June and July.

For more information about the Riverhounds Development Academy, visit www.riverhounds.com/academy.

RDA celebrates its latest class of graduates

As another competitive season for the Riverhounds Development Academy approaches its end, the players who make up the Academy’s Class of 2022 gathered and were recognized in a ceremony April 25 at Highmark Stadium.

The RDA graduation had become an annual tradition since the first ceremony was held in 2016, but the pandemic interrupted the in-person celebrations. This year allowed for a return to normal activity, with a signing ceremony, dinner for the players and their families and some short speeches and presentations by the RDA coaches.

There was certainly much to celebrate in the Class of 2022, with 51 players completing their time playing for the Riverhounds. For most players, the end of their RDA tenure signals the start of a college playing career, including 14 players who will are joining NCAA Division I teams for the 2022-23 season. Another 31 are advancing to varsity teams in the Division II, Division II and NAIA ranks, while others elected to pursue academics or other goals and chose to step away from competitive soccer.

At the graduation event, some of the RDA’s players took the time to talk about their academy experiences. Three of the longest-tenured players on the girls’ side, Jessica Molitoris, Sydney Lindeman and Tatum Gretz — all of whom will be playing college soccer next year — spoke about how their time in the academy has them ready for that next step.

Another group of graduating players, Bubby Towns, Matt Lucas and Sam Farner, reflected on their favorite RDA memories and looked back on some of the major ECNL events and national showcases across the country where they have participated wearing the Yellow-Black-Yellow of the Hounds Academy.

With 2022-23 tryouts beginning this week and new classes of players ready to step into the program, the coaches and staff of the Hounds Academy salute their Class of 2022, thank them for their hard work, and wish them the best in all their future endeavors, both on and off the field.

2022 Riverhounds Development Academy graduates

Girls

Anastasia Crisante — Miami (Ohio)
Tessa Dellarose — North Carolina
Jurnee Durrett-Finney — Point Park
Nicole Fortes — Vermont
Lily Gaston — Johns Hopkins
Claire Gerard — West Virginia Wesleyan
Tatum Gretz — Villanova
Gabrielle Hill-Junke — Bates
Mary Kate Lape — Kent State
Sydney Lindeman — Towson
Olivia Mark — Western Ontario
Halle Marsalis — Chatham
Natalie Matthews — Purdue
Azalea Mihailovich — North Carolina-Asheville
Jessica Molitoris — Seton Hill
Kameryn Nelson — Wooster
Lindsay Pawlawski — Ohio Northern
Makenna Sansotta — Clarion
Jayden Sharpless — Georgia State
Alena Taladay — Westminster
Jade Tau — California (Pa.)
Aleena Ulke — Syracuse
Maria Veiga — Pitt-Johnstown
Brooklyn Watts — Glenville State
Ava Wert — Messiah
Sydney Williams — Susquehanna
Bethany Winnor — New Hampshire

Boys

Ethan Bowser — Washington & Jefferson
Caden Carpender — West Virginia Wesleyan
Tyler Chernisky — Washington & Jefferson
Christopher Conrad — Savannah College of Art & Design
Severin Dengel — John Carroll
Johnny Dragisich — Duquesne
Ryan Edwards — Florida Gulf Coast
Sam Farner — Liberty
DD Flowers — Cybersecurity Certification Online
Ethan Gregory — Messiah
Bailey Holbert — Waynesburg
Nick Kristian — Thiel
Nathan Lambert — Penn State Behrend
Matt Lucas — Radford
Niko Manos — Pitt-Greensburg
Nate Merritt — Penn State Altoona
Connor Oeschlin — Gardner-Webb
Ayden Payne — Mount Union
Kameron Rock — Saint Vincent
Tyler Rosborough — Marietta
Adam Stefl — Marywood
Bubby Towns — Radford
Jeremy Uher — Slippery Rock
Anthony Valerio — La Roche

Academy standout Dellarose training with Racing Louisville

The Riverhounds and Louisville City FC are set to square off this weekend in a top-two showdown in the USL Championship, but there’s another tie linking the Hounds to Louisville this spring.

Tessa Dellarose, a Riverhounds Development Academy standout with the 2003/04 Girls and a North Carolina recruit, has been in training in recent weeks with the pro team of Louisville City’s sister club — Racing Louisville of the top-tier National Women’s Soccer League.

The opportunity to train with the professionals before starting her college career is a huge opportunity for Dellarose, and she has been working among a Louisville team that includes U.S. World Cup winner Jessica McDonald and international pros who have represented Denmark, Australia, England, Jamaica and Northern Ireland, as well as the U.S.

While Dellarose is not able to play in matches for Racing Louisville — unlike with the USL Academy contracts that allow a high-school-aged player such as Wyatt Borso to play for a USL Championship club like the Hounds — she is still able to see game action this spring suiting up with her RDA side for matches in the Elite Clubs National League or in tournaments, as her schedule allows.

The development opportunity of training with a professional team adds more to the impressive resumé Dellarose has amassed since beginning to play with the Riverhounds Academy as a 14-year-old. In that time, she suited up for the U.S. Under-16 Girls National Team and was invited to camp last fall with the U.S. Women’s U-20 National Team, all before her upcoming graduation this spring from Brownsville High School in Fayette County, Pa., where she grew up.

Dellarose took the time last week to chat with Director of Communications Matt Grubba about her time in Louisville, getting ready for college and how playing with the RDA has helped her develop and enhance her soccer career. You can watch the full interview below, and also click the link to read more about Dellarose’s time with the U.S. U-20 Women’s team.

RDA Recap, April 1-3: More Jeff Cup and GLA wins

*The 2006 Boys come together for a team photo on Friday, April 1, their first day of Jefferson Cup play in Richmond, Va.*

Boys showcase weekend at the Jefferson Cup saw Riverhounds Development Academy eyes on Richmond, Va. again, but even with no ECNL matches on the slate, the first weekend of April was still loaded with Great Lakes Alliance action across the Academy.

The 2006 Boys got off to a strong Friday start with a 3-0 win over SC Del Sol (Ariz.) on goals by Pablo Linzoain, Jackson Suski and Luke Brady. After Bennett Haas got the lone Hounds goal in a 1-1 draw with Sporting Delaware, the team had a shot to finish at or near the top of a balanced division in which no team won every game, but they were edged out in their final match, 2-1, by a counter-attacking Mount Olive SC (N.J.) team.

In the older groups, the 05 Boys managed two draws against teams in the top 11 of the national rankings at that age group — 2-2 with Southern Chester County (Pa.) and 0-0 with Ronkonkoma (N.Y.) — but they were tripped up in a 2-0 loss Sunday to Loudoun SC (Va.). The 03/04 Boys were narrowly beaten in their first two matches against the Richmond Strikers and North Carolina FC, but they closed out well with a convincing 4-0 win over East Meadow SC (N.Y.) as Johnny Dragisich, DD Flowers, Ethan Gregory and Matty Lucas spread out the scoring.

Back near home in GLA action, some of the youngest shone brightest as the 11 East Girls took seven points of a possible nine, starting with a 2-2 draw against an Erie Admirals team that had beaten them by three goals in their first meeting. Kennadee Richardson and Leah Bash scored in that match, and the momentum continued as they beat the Western NY Flash, 3-0, with goals by Zoe Bell, Ella Plundo and Richardson, and Cuyahoga Valley SA, 1-0, on a goal by Bell and excellent goalkeeping by Sophia Franco and Madeline Peifer.

Among the other winners on the weekend were the 08 and 09 East Boys with lopsided Sunday results, as well as the 07 East Girls on Sunday and the 06 East Girls on Saturday. To see all of those wins and the rest of the RDA outcomes from the weekend, be sure to visit the Results Page on Riverhounds.com.

RDA Recap, March 25-27: Two trophies from Jefferson Cup

*The 2005 Girls cruised through their three matches at the Jefferson Cup in Richmond, Va., as they outscored their opponents 14-1 in the three wins March 25-27.*

Two Riverhounds Development Academy teams came out atop their groups on the girls weekend of the prestigious Jefferson Cup in Richmond, Va., and that was just the highlight of a weekend full of big games — and cold weather — for the academy.

The 2005 and 2007 Girls were the ones to post perfect records in Richmond, and the 05s did it in dominant fashion, recording a +13 goal difference in just three showcase matches. Fiona Mahan led the side with four goals on the weekend, while Lucia Wells and Julia Lozowski netted three apiece, as the Hounds’ closest match was a 4-0 win on the final day over Patriots FC of New York.

The 2007 Girls, meanwhile, had to win a true championship game to take their group, and they got the job done 4-1 against the New England Surf (Mass.). Robin Reilly scored twice in the final, part of a five-goal weekend, while Isabella Costa and Maddie Barr also struck in the final game. As it turned out, the team would have advanced to the final with a draw in its final group game, but a penalty by Reilly kept the perfect record intact with a 3-2 comeback win over World Class FC (N.Y.) in which Sierra Dupre scored twice to start the rally.

The 06 Girls also had a productive weekend with two wins out of three, while the 03/04 and 06 East Girls also picked up wins during the high-level showcase.

Closer to home, the ECNL Boys sides faced some tough league matches but grabbed a few excellent results.

The weekend started with the 2006 Boys scoring a 1-0 upset of the first-place Nationals (Mich.). The defense led by Arnev Patel and good goalkeeping by Nick Cherry kept the match deadlocked until Jackson Suski set up Davi Jansson for the winning goal in the waning moments. The 03/04 Boys and 07 Boys also picked up wins on Saturday, while the 05 Boys played two very different draws — 0-0 with Nationals and 3-3 with Cleveland Force.

The younger ECNL girls were on the road, and the 09 Girls scored a big 2-1 win at Kings Hammer (Ohio) behind goals by Madison Shaver and Charlotte Kline. It was a good weekend for that age group, as the 09 Regional League Girls side took four points out of six by beating Ohio Premier, 3-1, with goals by Addy Richardson, Rylee Leasher and Emerson Shine, and drawing Kings Hammer, 1-1, with another goal by Leasher.

The other two-match-winning side on the weekend were the 03/04 RDA II Boys, who racked up a pair of GLA wins by topping their RDA East counterparts and then shutting out Cleveland Force, 4-0, behind a Jeremy Uher hat trick. Weather took its toll on a number of other GLA matches, causing a handful of cancellations for both the RDA II and RDA East teams.

Beginning with this past weekend’s games, the RDA Results page is back up and running on Riverhounds.com. Now there’s no need to wait for the weekly recap for Academy news, and you can see how all the teams around the organization fared in one place.

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